Question about copyright issues in writing fantasy

[C-Death]

Hello my fellow writers. Today, I come to you with a question that has bugged me for quite some time.

Let's face it; most of us write because we love to write, however, would our works have the chance to get published, we probably wouldn't say no.

My question is probably pretty simple: Would I run in to copyright problems if, oh, say, I used the race of Orc's in my writing? I don't see why I would, as quite a few fantasy writers have. But, allow me to dig deeper, what if I used a type of "holy" men called Paladins? would that be a problem?

I thank you for any advice; have a nice day, and enjoy writing.

 

[Wiseman_2]

I wouldn't think so with paladins or orcs, both are fairly common across other fantasy writing.

 

[C-Death]

Ah, alright, I thank you. Probably the first fantasy I read was The Lord of the Rings (as I'm sure is the case for many) quite a few years ago, long before Blizzard created warcraft. Since then, it's hard to find fantasy work that doesn't have some type of Elf, Dwarf, Orc, or other un-human characteristics to it.

 

[C-Death]

An addition to my question, would it be "fair use" or what ever you want to call it if the Elves in my works of fiction lived for a very, very long time, much in the way they do in "the lord of the rings?"

 

[Wiseman_2]

I'm pretty sure it would be fine to do that, much in the way a character from one book might share some similar traits to a character from a completely different series; though I guess there would be limits at some point (I am not a lawyer ).

 

[C-Death]

Lol indeed. In my further research, I should be fine so long as Aragorn doesn't make an appearance anywhere in my writings

 

[Ninva]

Most of these characters (I believe Tolkien created the "Orc" that we know today) are from mythology. If you follow a certain mythology, then you should be fine.

 

[DM Cross]

Most stuff like that is free for all stuff. Like Ninva said, a lot of our creatures and warriors are based either on mythology or actual warriors of the past. Orcs are actually creatures of myths, as are certain Gods, faeries, even places [Hell, Asgard, etc. etc.]

No one really "owns" these things and if ever questioned, a simple statement of "I got the idea from myths, legends and cultural tales" clears you from getting sued by anyone who thinks they own "Orcs" or any other creature.